All Things Tech with Hackfort

Hackfort 2023 during Treefort Music Fest is about celebrating all things tech

This year our sights are set on the future of the industry and those paving the way. 

This year, Hackfort will fall into three pillars: Quantum Computing and the Future, Women In Technology, Hands on with Hackers – Mentorship in Action.

Boise’s premier tech fest, Hackfort takes place Thursday – Saturday (March 23-25) of Treefort.

Additionally, if you are gamer from Boise & beyond, you can secure your spot for BoiseLAN! BoiseLAN is a multi-day bring-your-own-computer (BYOC) LAN party happening during Hackfort Thursday – Sunday (March 23-26) of the fest. Learn more and get to know what BoiseLAN here is all about.

Have you ever wanted to build your own Keyboard? Build your own Mechanical Keyboard Workshop is back!! This workshop will be a guided walkthrough and includes the keyboard kit to get you all started.
Space is limited to 30 seats so snag your tickets (includes a Hackfort badge) now!!

Buy your Hackfort Badge for $30 and secure priority access to all Hackfort talks, workshops & demos.

We’re already nerding out over Hackfort’s 2023 headliners: Dr. Miriam Meckel and Dr. Léa Steinacker, co-founders of ada learning, the European community platform for organizational development and personal growth, will give a presentation covering an expert outlook on the future of Quantum Computing, what it means for industry, how it will accelerate Artificial Intelligence, and why it represents an entire paradigm shift of worldview.

Hackfort 2023 will also welcome EYES OUT, a new arthouse game development studio in Los Angeles, forged from a fusion of visionary exploration and musical collaboration between veteran game designer Cory Davis (Spec Ops: The Line) and Robin Finck (Nine Inch Nails).

Prof. Dr. Miriam Meckel

Prof. Dr. Miriam Meckel is an award-winning journalist, professor, and entrepreneur. She is the Co-founder and CEO of ada learning, the European community platform for organizational development and personal growth. She also teaches communication management at the University of St. Gallen. Previously, she was the first female Editor in Chief and Publisher of WirtschaftsWoche, Germany’s leading business magazine. Dr. Meckel has earned numerous awards and global recognition for her work as a journalist, author, speaker, and scientist. Presentation date and time TBA.

Dr. Léa Steinacker

Dr. Léa Steinacker is an award-winning journalist, entrepreneur, and social scientist with a PhD in the social dimensions of artificially intelligent systems (AI). Her work focuses on how technology interacts with people, practices, and the planet. She has published on topics like automated facial recognition, synthetic voice generation, quantum computing, and her original framework of Code Capital. In 2018, Dr. Steinacker co-founded and is now the Chief Innovation Officer of ada learning, a learning and development community that equips leaders from diverse organizations for the future through content, live experiences, and practical innovation projects. Presentation date and time TBA.

Eyes Out

Robin Finck is a co-founder of EYES OUT and is the guitar player of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. He has been a prominent member of the band since 1993 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. Robin began scoring music for video games in 2014, contributing to No Code’s Observation and the dark ambient NOCT from Devolver Digital. Finck was a presenter at Reboot Develop 2017, and was the keynote speaker at Hackfort Fest 2018.

Cory Davis is a co-founder of EYES OUT and was the creative director and designer of the critically acclaimed Spec Ops: The Line. His early projects include the similarly acclaimed Condemned and F.E.A.R. franchises from Monolith Productions. In 2014, Davis was a founding member of the independent studio Tangent Games, and continued his work in the horror genre as creator and composer of the psychedelic breakout hit Here They Lie.

Shahid Kamal Ahmad

Shahid has been named one of Games Industry International’s Top 10 Persons of the Year and 100 Top Influencers in the British Games Industry, Develop’s 25 People that Changed Games, one of MCV’s Brit List 100 and received Develop’s Publishing Hero award for his team’s role in opening PlayStation up to developers and for commissioning No Man’s Sky, Hellblade, The Persistence, Velocity 2X, Hotline Miami, Rogue Legacy and over a hundred others. The Strategic Content initiative helped to establish countless developer and publisher success stories.

Ryan Douglas

A noted expert and innovator in the fields of mental health, artificial intelligence and surgical robotics, Ryan has been on the frontline of major paradigm shifts in healthcare for nearly 20 years. He has commercialized 25 FDA-cleared medical devices, including treatments for depression, hypertension, women’s health, chronic pain and related neurological conditions. Ryan holds pivotal patents for medical AI, robotics and systems and frequently has achieved FDA clearance for breakthrough therapies.

HACKFORT 2023 WORKSHOPS & ACTIVITIES

Build Your Own Custom Keyboard

Saturday, March 25 | 3-6pm | Boise Centre

Learn how to build your own custom mechanical keyboard! In this workshop, you’ll provide your own keycaps and switches and we’ll help you build a 60% keyboard kit, go over how to program it using VIA configurator and QMK Toolbox, as well as answer any questions you have.

This workshop is $90 and open to the public of all ages and includes a Hackfort Badge. Once you sign up, you will be emailed instructions on what to buy prior to joining. Buy tickets here!

BoiseLAN 

Thurs: 2pm-midnight, Fri & Sat: 11am-midnight, Sun: 11am-3pm | Boise Centre

BoiseLAN is coming to Hackfort! BoiseLAN is typically a weekend-long, bring your own computer LAN party. Gamers from all over the Northwest get together to compete in tournaments, talk tech, and, of course, game all weekend. Tickets are $150 and are open to the public of all ages and includes a Hackfort Badge. Sign up here!

Solderfort 101: An introduction to basic soldering 

Join us for this workshop where we will focus on basic soldering principles and practices all while making your very own LED Hackfort pendant. Open to all ages. Included with a Festival Pass or Hackfort Badge.

Board Game Brunch 

Grant Lyon, a touring professional comedian from Comedy Central, Comic’s Unleashed, the SyFy Channel, and more, is also a huge board game lover! He will be at Treefort Music Fest hosting Board Game Brunch. Open to all ages. Included with a Festival Pass or Hackfort Badge. More details and location coming soon. 

Lock Picking Lounge

This workshop has become a Treefort fave! Do you ever walk out of an action or spy movie curious of your own capabilities to either escape (or break-in) to a locked room or locking mechanism? Well, obtaining the actual skill is not that far-fetched, and we are here to teach you the trade. Back at Hackfort by popular demand, join us for The Lock Picking Lounge, an interactive space designed to give every person the chance to sit down, relax, and learn the basics of picking locks! 

Hackfort will provide all necessary expertise of hobbyist pros and locksmiths for teaching, supplies for picking, and even advanced challenges of real-world locks such as door/deadbolt locks (picking/shimming), bike, and trailer (coupler) locks, handcuff picking, and safe cracking. Open to all ages. Included with a Festival Pass or Hackfort Badge.

Explore alll the incredible Hackfort presenters on the lineup!!